Detlev Piltz

England: A Class of Its Own (eBook, ePUB)

An Outsider's View

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

A wry, affectionate and amusing take on English class and customs from an outsider's perspective.

For years German lawyer and author Detlev Piltz has been observing England, its life, customs and above all its classes. He argues that whenever an English person meets another, they will immediately try and place the individual they are talking to in a class by their speech, deportment, clothing, address and general aura. Why might this be, and does the English class system still exist in the twenty-first century? This book argues that it is very much still alive.

Piltz examines the 'hard' and 'soft' class markers that permeate English society, from where Britons go on holiday to what they wear, eat, drive and what they name their pets. He explains how the way you pronounce the word 'garage' indicates your class, and asks whether it makes sense still to talk of the English Gentleman, a species of human being so often admired in continental Europe yet parodied and satirized ad infinitum.

England: A Class of Its Own is based on an incredible amount of research and riddled with amusing quotations. In the same vein as Jilly Cooper's Class, this is a book that will give pleasure and amusement to many.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Bloomsbury UK
• Seitenzahl: 432
• Erscheinungstermin: 14. April 2022
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781472993038
• Artikelnr.: 63603935

Autorenporträt

Detlev Piltz is a senior partner in the German law firm of Flick Gocke und Schaumburg. He has published a number of highly regarded law books in German and since 1992 has been an honorary professor of the University of Mannheim.

Inhaltsangabe

Foreword and Acknowledgements Introduction Part I: About Class 1 'It
depends on your class' 2 Equality and Meritocracy 3 What is Class? 4 Hard
Class Markers 5 Working, Upper, Middle, Under 6 Class Matters 7 Class
Denial 8 Class and Politics Part II: Soft class markers (then and now) 9
Rules, Soft and Silent 10 Appearance 11 Clothing and Dress 12 Greeting,
Introduction, Addressing People 13 What's in a Name? 14 Accent and
Pronunciation 15 Vocabulary and Language 16 Conversation 17 Stances and
Behaviour 18 Cars 19 Table Manners 20 Food and Drink 21 Shopping 22 House
23 Gardens 24 Animals 25 Sport 26 Holidays and Travel 27 The Arts 28
Etcetera Part III: Always and Forever? 29 A classless Society 30 Class-free
Zones 31 Class of Origin 32 Change of Class 33 Breaking the Rules 34
Foreigners Part IV: Beyond Class 35 This Happy Breed of Men Bibliography
and Further Reading Notes Index